USU football: 7 players named to College Sports Madness’ Preseason all-Mountain West teams

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football had seven players named to College Sports Madness’ 2013 Preseason all-Mountain West teams, as two offensive players and five defensive players were recognized.

Fresno State and San Jose State had the most preseason selections with 10 each, while Colorado State had nine and San Diego State had eight. Utah State, Boise State and New Mexico all had seven preseason selections, while Air Force, Nevada and UNLV each had five selections, followed by Hawai’i (4) and Wyoming (1).

Senior center Tyler Larsen and senior offensive tackle Eric Schultz were the only Aggies named to the preseason all-Mountain West first-team, while senior linebacker Jake Doughty was the only Aggie named to the preseason all-Mountain West second-team. Aggies selected to College Sports Madness’ preseason all-Mountain West third-team include sophomore linebacker Kyler Fackrell, senior defensive back Nevin Lawson, sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Nielsen and senior defensive lineman Connor Williams.

Larsen, a 6-foot-4, 312-pounder from Salt Lake City, Utah (Jordan HS), enters his senior season having started 38 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the Mountain West. Larsen is a two-time first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honoree and the first USU offensive lineman to accomplish that feat since 1997.

Larsen, who was also named a first-team preseason all-Mountain West selection by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele, is also one of 44 players on the 2013 Rimington Trophy Watch List, which is given annually to the nation's most outstanding center in college football. Larsen is also a fourth-team preseason All-America selection by Phil Steele.

During the 2012 season, Larsen tied for the team lead along with Schultz with an 86 percent overall performance grade, including 78 percent in technique and 83 percent in effort. He carried out the right assignment 97 percent of the time, including four games where he graded out at a perfect 100 percent. He also graded out above 90 percent two times in total performance, and above 80 percent 12 times in effort and seven times in technique. Overall, he posted 65.5 knockdowns on the season.

Schultz, a 6-4, 308-pounder from Connell, Wash. (Connell HS), earned first-team all-WAC honors a year ago as he tied for the team lead along with Larsen with an 86 percent overall performance grade, including 77 percent in technique and 82 percent in effort. He carried out the right assignment 98 percent of the time, including three games where he graded out at a perfect 100 percent. He also graded out above 85 percent 10 times in total performance, and above 80 percent 10 times in effort and six times in technique. He finished the year with 44.0 knockdowns and only allowed 1.5 sacks during the season.

Schultz was also named preseason second-team all-Mountain West by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

Doughty, a 6-0, 230-pounder from Draper, Utah (Juan Diego HS), earned first-team all-WAC honors in 2012 after leading the team, ranking second in the conference and tied for 71st in the nation with 109 tackles (8.4 pg). He also recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack during the season, to go along with four pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.

Doughty was also named preseason third-team all-Mountain West by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

Fackrell, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Mesa, Ariz. (Mesa HS), earned first-team all-WAC honors and was the first Aggie in school history named a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American a year ago as he finished the season ranking second on the team and eighth in the WAC with three interceptions (0.23 pg), third on the team and 13th in the WAC with 8.0 tackles for loss (0.62 pg), and fourth on the team and 13th in the WAC with 87 tackles (6.7 pg). Those 87 stops rank tied for third all-time at Utah State among freshmen. He also finished second on the team with seven quarterback hurries, to go along with 3.0 sacks and three pass breakups.

Popular Comments

Preseason, all-conference teams? Until people start a came or are at a minimum
still healthy at the end of fall camp, this is pure speculation. What a complete
waste of time. Sounds like a sports writer was bored.